I climbed the Holy Mountain...

In the year 1994-'95, when i was invited to become the moderator-adviser of a college org in san beda, my major concern was to get to know the objective of the organization. Upon knowing from them that the main goal of the san beda mountaineering society (SBMS) was to climb two mountains of minor category with an elevation of two to three thousand feet high, and to climb two mountains of major category with seven to nine thousand feet high, i didn't hesitate to accept the invitation. So in that same school year, i became their adviser-moderator. that would mean i had to join with the members and officers in all of their four climbs within the school year and its summer. the adventure in my life began...

i learned from the current officers of the org that the two minor climbs the org members and their applicant-would-be members must tackle will be held at Mt Maculot in Cuenca Batangas, Philippines and at Mt Cristobal in Tayabas Quezon which is otherwise known as the evil "spooky" mountain. furthermore, i also gathered information that the major climbs will be held towards the beginning of the second semester at Mt Banahaw in Quezon Province which is famously tagged as the Holy mountain. The other major climb and the last training climb will be held at Mt Pulog in Benguet Mountain Province with an elevation of 9587 feet and will be best conquered during the end of the school year around March and April for reasons of weather disturbances.

climbing Mt Banahaw...the Holy Mountain.
It is said that Mt. Banahaw keeps away those who are not yet ready to receive its secrets. Rising some 2450 meters from sea level, this active volcano, a part of the Banahaw-Cristobal National Park, has long been believed to be a storehouse of psychic energy. The local residents considers it a sacred mountain. It teems with legends and superstitions. It has been the home to countless members of religious groups: hermits, soul searchers, spiritists and faith healers who climb its slopes to meditate in it’s cave and commune with the mountain spirits. It clearly shows the other side of Filipino fanaticism and superstitious ways. Being in Banahaw is something like stepping into incredible stories of apparitions, heavenly voices, strange sounds, dwarves, fairies and even UFO’s. Geographically, Banahaw stands on a power point where the key lines of the earth intersect.Wherever such latitudes and longitudes meet, they create energy fields that allow higher frequencies of perception, physiological or otherwise.

images of the climb with my students...